The present invention relates to multipurpose hand tools, and in particular to such a tool which has over-center locking pliers and can be folded into a compact configuration.
Folding multipurpose hand tools have become well known in recent years. Representative tools of this sort are disclosed in, for example, Leatherman U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,862, Leatherman U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,869, Sessions et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,844, Frazer U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,366, MacIntosh U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,114, Gardiner et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,002 and Frazer U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,599. While many of such tools have included folding pliers, only Thai U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,355 discloses pliers capable of being locked by an over-center locking arrangement, and whose jaws can be folded to make such a tool more compact. The Kershaw Multi-Tool™, now on the market, has over-center locking pliers, but the jaws do not fold. Of course, the best known of locking pliers is the Peterson Vise-Grip®, but it is not foldable for compact storage, nor is it multipurpose.
Previously-known multipurpose tools with over-center locking pliers have been of operable design, but have lacked strength, or useful features, or have been unattractive in appearance, or have not been able to be folded into a suitably compact configuration; and thus such tools have been less than completely satisfactory for their intended purpose.
In multipurpose folding tools, various latch mechanisms have been utilized in the past, as represented, for example, by Seber et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,247, and Swinden et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,950, to retain folding tool bits and blades in desired positions, either folded and stowed within a cavity provided in a tool handle, or rigidly and safely extended ready for use. The previously available latching arrangements, however, have had various drawbacks, either from the standpoint of operability, strength, and reliability, or from the standpoint of manufacturing costs.
Socket wrenches and hex bit drivers are well known. Adaptors to connect hex bits or sockets or both to multipurpose tools are also well known. See, for example, Heldt U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,278, Chen U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,140, Lin U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,353, Park U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,659, and Cachot U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,600. Tool bit drive adaptors, however, are an additional item which must be carried and kept together with the multipurpose tool to enable it to be used to drive such tool bits. Also, currently available drivers do not work well with special bits, such as corkscrews, which must be pulled, rather than pushed, in use.
What is desired, then, is an improved folding multipurpose tool including pliers with over-center locking jaws capable of exerting significant gripping force and whose jaws can be folded. Also desired are a folding multipurpose tool including an improved mechanism for locking and unlocking various blades, and a folding multipurpose tool including an improved holder for hex bit tools. Preferably, such a tool should be of sturdy, reliable construction, be able to be manufactured at a reasonable cost, and have a pleasing appearance, and be capable of folding into a compact storage configuration so as to be easily carried and readily available for use when needed. Also preferable in such a tool is that most of the motions and positionings of the various components that are required when using the tool occur automatically or are intuitive to the user.